TOWN Hall chiefs at Warrington have approved an innovative £6.5 million plan to install solar heating panels on more than 600 rented homes in some of the borough’s most deprived areas.
They say the scheme – to be carried out in partnership with the Golden Gates Housing Trust – will lift many local families from the fuel poverty trap and also net £7 million for the borough.
It is regarded as a pilot scheme and could be rolled out to other areas at a later date.
The controlling Labour administration say the scheme is a far cry from a £10 million industrial-size solar farm considered by the former Liberal Democrat-Conservative administration in the run-up to the May elections.
They say that scheme was financial unviable.
Cllr David Keane, (pictured) the council’s executive member for Environment and Public Protection said: “I am absolutely delighted that just two months after Labour took control of the Town Hall, we are able to deliver on this key election pledge.
“Although much smaller in scale than the massively risky solar farm, this pilot scheme will still help 600 households get out of fuel poverty, saving them £112 a year.
“This scheme is different to the Lib Dem-Tory solar farm because it is targeted at directly helping vulnerable households and crucially it will actually earn the council and Golden Gates Housing over £7 million surplus during the next 25 years. This surplus can then be reinvested back into the community.”
Cllr Hitesh Patel, executive member for Personnel and Communications added:
“Not only are we helping families avoid fuel poverty but we are making an important contribution to the environment by taking 474 tonnes of carbon out of the atmosphere per year.
“Ultimately it would be great if we can inspire local businesses followed our lead and start using solar panels too.”
13 Comments
Gosh more tonnes of carbon taken out of our local atmosphere will certainly help asthmatics like me. Last night at the Mersey Ports Master PLan presentation they were telling us how much they would save once the Port of Warrington was constructed with the consequence that fewer road haulage miles would be made. I as you know will be fighting for Nature Conservation and greater Biodiversity – like the claims made at the recent Park Royal meeting of the Cheshire LEP I will be attempting to hold you all to account to ensure that over the next twenty to thirty you deliver on your claims. After all we’re suppose to live to nearly a HUNDRED are’t we….ha ha
Just wondering how much CO2 is produced in the manufacture and transport of these solar panels. Are the existing roof trusses strong enough to support the panels. And given the timespan, will anybody ever really know if a £7 million surplus has been produced.
Election commitment my foot. This plan was proposed by the previous administration and was included in their budget.
see here:
http://cmis.warrington.gov.uk/cmis5/Document.ashx?czJKcaeAi5tUFL1DTL2UE4zNRBcoShgo=QQov2rPbAS6PsO%2bOZB01aPXSXK%2fUGBiTggZbU%2bjJm4bfHt1CqI7urw%3d%3d&mCTIbCubSFfXsDGW9IXnlg%3d%3d=hFflUdN3100%3d&kCx1AnS9%2fpWZQ40DXFvdEw%3d%3d=hFflUdN3100%3d&uJovDxwdjMPoYv%2bAJvYtyA%3d%3d=ctNJFf55vVA%3d&FgPlIEJYlotS%2bYGoBi5olA%3d%3d=NHdURQburHA%3d&d9Qjj0ag1Pd993jsyOJqFvmyB7X0CSQK=ctNJFf55vVA%3d&WGewmoAfeNR9xqBux0r1Q8Za60lavYmz=ctNJFf55vVA%3d&WGewmoAfeNQ16B2MHuCpMRKZMwaG1PaO=ctNJFf55vVA%3d
See Page 25, line 12 of the Environment & Regeneration Capital schemes.
Labour trying to take credit for other people’s work yet again
I see your fellow councillor talks as much hot air as you. So it’s only the deprived areas that get this and its only them that suffer from fuel poverty ????- rubbish its the working men and women of the town that fill in the gaps for the deprived areas. Its the leafy areas that Labour will screw over again in Warrington
You mean to say that Labour are liars ??? I’m in Shock!!!!!!! ahhaha they are a joke
hmmm…. am I understanding this correctly…. as part of the election campaign process Labour promised to deliver the scheme which put solar panels on roofs and now they have done. Personally I don’t think it matters who’s idea it was… actions speak louder than words. The Lib Dems had the idea that that they would oppose any increase in tuition fees and we all know what happened there. Another LibDem idea which they failed to deliver on was their promise to not increase VAT and lo and behold what happened….??? I fail to see how we can criticise a party for doing what they said.
Take £6 million. Invest it in secure, government bonds at as little as 3.5% for 25 years. That alone will generate a surplus of nearly £8.5 million – enough to pay each of 600 households £112 per year in cash AND return £7 million surplus – WITHOUT the risk of the artificially high solar feedin tariffs being cut by a future government or by the various pending legal actions, WITHOUT the technical risks associated with getting a project like this to work as promised, and WITHOUT shortening the lifespan of the roofs of the houses concerned by putting a load they were never designed to support on them for 25 years. (but I suppose WBC aren’t bothered about the roofs – after all, they did just GIVE the houses we all owned away to GGHT for free – didn’t they?). BTW. solar panels do not REMOVE carbon from the atmosphere. Plants and trees do that, and quite a number of trees will have to be cut down to allow the sun to shine on these solar panels – especially if this scheme is rolled out on a wider basis.
Gimmick……
That sounds a very good idea in principle Inky Pete……. I wonder if they have considered that ?
I’m not particularly for or against solar panels but it does seem an awful lot of money which in effect will only save the renter in these deprived areas £2 a week in elec costs. Forgive me for saying this and I do not mean to cause offence to anyone …… but I would imagine that a lot of people who are in these deprived areas and homes are possibly unemployed so therefore are at home most of the time and therefore using more electricity as a consequence. I’m at home a lot and therefore we do. Others may be employed but on a very low wage. Wouldn’t it be better to invest the £6.5 million in something more benefical such as local training and/or creating job opportunities for these people so that they can hopefully better their lives and earn/afford more and who knows maybe even move out of their ‘deprived area’ rented homes one day ? I really cant see any of them jumping with joy at the prospect of saving £2 a week in all honesty whilst knowing that the council and housing association will be making £7 million surplus over 25 years. I wonder what their surplus will be spent on as it dribbles in ?
Your right Baz – its on the news today about solar farms
Pay 600 homes £112 a year for 25 years and you still only spend £1.7M
As far as earning £7m by selling surplus back into the grid at subsidised rates goes… where do you think the money comes from for that? TAX!
We are paying £6.5m local tax to the council who spend it on this daft scheme and then give them another £7m via central government.
is it just me or is this completely bananas?
This is completely bananas! Again, where is this money coming from? You and me. WBC have yet to realise that they are bust! If it was their own money the Councillors would not be voting for it. They have really got to get into the real world. This scheme is really devisory. Only when we all get the annual reduction in our bills will it be completely fair.